Nightcrawler
Member
I've been looking at the S&W M&P R8 revolver, the 627PC revolver, and the possibility of replacing my former 686+.
Thing is, with the seven and eight shot revolvers, there are only two speedloaders available: HKS and those funky rubber ones, which I have no experience with.
With my 629, I'm actually quite fast with HKS loaders. The big charge holes make it easy with a bit of practice, but that's ammunition dependent. Roundy-nosed jacketed ammo (like Hydra-Shoks) works best; lead nosed ammo is more troublesome.
The problem with the HKS loaders is cartridge wiggle. I know why they do this; the HKS 29M loader will work on the S&W N-Frame .44, the Colt Anaconda, and the Ruger Redhawk; these guns don't necessarily have the same cylinder diameter.
Anyway, though, once you get to seven or eight smaller holes, the HKS loaders become a bit more troublesome to use. (They don't even make loaders for the eight-guns.)
All of the S&W eight-shooters come machined for moonclips. So my question is this: how well do they work?
.45ACP moonclips are actually quite sturdy. The clip is thick, and the cartridges are short and stubby. They don't wiggle.
But with a .357 moonclip, you need a thinner clip, and the cartridges are a lot longer. There's more leverage is something squeezes the clip, increasing the potential of the clip bending. I've also heard that the eight-shot moonclips don't hold the cartridges very solidly. It seems to me that if the cartridges are wiggling around, you're going have a harder time than necessary quickly reloading.
And yet the clipped eight shooters are all the rage in competition. I've heard there are competition clips that hold the cartridges more securely, but perhaps don't work with all brass.
Can anybody give me a solid answer? Is a S&W eight shooter or seven shooter with moonclips worth the trouble? Or should I just stick with my big bores with less capacity but simpler reloading?
Thing is, with the seven and eight shot revolvers, there are only two speedloaders available: HKS and those funky rubber ones, which I have no experience with.
With my 629, I'm actually quite fast with HKS loaders. The big charge holes make it easy with a bit of practice, but that's ammunition dependent. Roundy-nosed jacketed ammo (like Hydra-Shoks) works best; lead nosed ammo is more troublesome.
The problem with the HKS loaders is cartridge wiggle. I know why they do this; the HKS 29M loader will work on the S&W N-Frame .44, the Colt Anaconda, and the Ruger Redhawk; these guns don't necessarily have the same cylinder diameter.
Anyway, though, once you get to seven or eight smaller holes, the HKS loaders become a bit more troublesome to use. (They don't even make loaders for the eight-guns.)
All of the S&W eight-shooters come machined for moonclips. So my question is this: how well do they work?
.45ACP moonclips are actually quite sturdy. The clip is thick, and the cartridges are short and stubby. They don't wiggle.
But with a .357 moonclip, you need a thinner clip, and the cartridges are a lot longer. There's more leverage is something squeezes the clip, increasing the potential of the clip bending. I've also heard that the eight-shot moonclips don't hold the cartridges very solidly. It seems to me that if the cartridges are wiggling around, you're going have a harder time than necessary quickly reloading.
And yet the clipped eight shooters are all the rage in competition. I've heard there are competition clips that hold the cartridges more securely, but perhaps don't work with all brass.
Can anybody give me a solid answer? Is a S&W eight shooter or seven shooter with moonclips worth the trouble? Or should I just stick with my big bores with less capacity but simpler reloading?